Retail and wholesale merchandisers direct substantial attention to the nagging and costly problem associated with the theft and/or damage of costly display products on their premises. With the predominance of smaller and portable electronic apparatus, the ease with which pilferers and shoplifters can quickly and easily remove such goods from display cases and display racks has intensified. At the same time, the availability of such products has skyrocketed, resulting in more and more valuable products being taken or tampered with. As locks and other security devices have become more sophisticated, so too have the individuals and methods for circumventing the operation of conventional security devices and, particularly, alarm sensing devices. The alarm system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,098, to Leyden, has solved many of these problems.
Security systems for portable consumer articles continue to evolve, as do both the products that they are designed to protect and the sophistication of the individuals that abscond with such articles.
The simplest security systems generally involve mechanical tethers. Commonly, a metal-cored cable with a soft coating is connected between a support and an article. The range of movement of the article relative to the support is dictated by the length of the tether. Tethers are attached to the articles using a variety of different techniques, amongst which are attachments through the use of lassos, adhesives, fasteners, etc. These mechanical systems, depending upon the nature of the cable, offer a reasonable deterrent to unsophisticated thieves. However, they are inherently prone to defeat by severance or by disconnection at the support and/or article.
The above shortcomings with mechanical systems are addressed by incorporating electronic components that can sense a security breach and alert those in the display facility, as by the use of a detectable signal generator, such as an audible alarm and/or a light, etc.
The electromechanical systems that have been developed have been widely accepted in the consumer products industry. However, those designing these electromechanical systems face a number of challenges presented by both would-be thieves and the system operators.
The recent proliferation of small, expensive, consumer articles, particularly in the electronics area, has caused a corresponding increase in theft. Consequently, there has grown a need to monitor these portable consumer articles in very different environments, including, but not limited to, those that are commercial, residential and institutional in nature.
Current alarm sensing systems for consumer articles or the like employ a simple sensor including a switch that closes when the sensor is attached to the article being monitored. Intelligent thieves have found ways to bypass such sensors which can result in continued theft of the high tech products that are being monitored. This drives up cost for consumers.
Additionally, there are issues with respect to wire management. Current systems require a cable from each sensor to the alarm monitoring station. This can result in cables interfering with one another.
The present invention is directed to improvements in alarm systems.